Brotherly Bonds
by Lukeprism
Summary: An inside look on the three Striaton Gym Leaders and their lives as they live them. Cress is cold, Chili is acting a little strange, and Cilan just wants to know what's wrong. Warnings: Future SLASH&INCEST, none at the moment, and mild cursing. Indefinite hiatus.


_**A/N: First Pokemon fic! Oh dear. Anyway, a couple of things to mention: **__One__**, this fic is based on the anime, not the game. **__Two__**, **__**SLASH&INCEST**__**. There's none in this first chapter, and probably not in the next either, but it will appear. I'll up the rating when it does. **__Three__**, no idea where I'm going plot-wise. I have the first few chapters mapped out, but beyond that I'm probably going to go spur-of-the-moment ideas. So bear with me xD**_

_**DISCLAIMER**__**: I don't own Pokemon. Nintendo/Game Freak owns Pokemon.**_

—**s—t—a—r—t—f—i—c—t—i —o—n—**

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEE-_SLAM_.

Chili's hand collided with the alarm clock's snooze button, nearly knocking the thing from his bedside table and onto the carpeted floor. He groaned out loud; he'd been having a good dream about... Something. He could no longer remember what it'd been about, but he knew it'd been good. What a bummer.

He raised his head groggily. Normally he wouldn't be getting up this early—five o'-_freakin'_-clock—in the morning, but he had an early scheduled Gym challenge today. Not only that, but the morning chore duties was his too. Swinging his feet over the edge of his bed, Chili stood up and stretched his body backwards and his arms outwards as far as he could. He had a feeling today would be abnormal somehow. Chili made his way to the small bathroom attached to his room, and ten minutes later, the redhead was fully showered, clothed and ready to go, though not yet completely awake.

He trudged down the stairs grumpily. He knew it was meant to be fair; each of the triplets had to take turns bearing the responsibility of readying the restaurant for business, as their mother had passed away a few years back and their father had left them when they were only small children, leaving the trio on their own. He also knew they were lucky to have the restaurant at all, but it didn't make him feel any better about having to get up so early.

Chili was used to this routine, however, so it was surprising to see another soul up and about in the kitchen when he rounded the corner slowly. Rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't still sleeping or something, he identified the person as one of his two older brothers, Cilan, his frivolously-styled green hair staying in place effortlessly as he walked to and fro, turning machines on and making sure everything was clean and in its proper place. Almost as if he knew Chili was standing there, Cilan turned toward him and did a double take, looking as surprised as his brother. He also looked just as tired, though he masked it almost instantly.

"Chili?" he asked, though there was no mistaking Chili for his stoic blue-haired brother, Cress. "What are you doing awake so early?"

Chili raised an eyebrow. "I should be asking you that. It's my turn today."

Cilan looked taken aback. "What? No it isn't. It's Thursday; I've got Thursday duty."

"...Today's Wednesday."

At this Cilan froze. Blinked. Turned toward the calendar that hung on the wall to his left. And finally hung his head, facepalming. "Oh, duh."

Despite his sour, half-asleep mood, Chili chuckled. "Nice one, dude," he teased, pulling plates out of the nearest cupboard to start setting the tables in the dining room.

Cilan sighed, clearly embarrassed at himself. "Yeah, definitely. Well, since I'm up, I might as well help you out," he said, opening up a drawer and grabbing handfuls of silverware.

"Are you sure?" Chili asked, opening the door into the spacious room with his side. "You don't have to."

"Nah, it's fine. Wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anyway," Cilan insisted, following him out.

"Oh. Well... Thanks."

"Not a problem."

By the time six o'clock rolled around, the dining room was set and prepared, a few waiters and waitresses had arrived for work and Cress had also awoken and joined them all downstairs in the kitchen for breakfast, omelets courtesy of Cilan.

"So you have a Gym challenge reserved for today?" Cress noticed, looking at the calendar non-chalantly as he waited for his omelet to cool off a little. "And so early too. How unusual."

Chili, who was feeling more like his usual, fiery self and eating his omelet ravenously paused for a moment, swallowing his mouthful loudly. "Yeah, well, she insisted on it. Who am I to turn down such an enthusiastic challenger?" he said, his voice taking on a mock-noble quality.

Cilan rolled his eyes, wiping his hands on his apron and taking his own omelet to the table, sitting down beside Cress. "Uh-huh. She must have been pretty," he teased, he and Cress sharing a knowing look. The redhead was positively crazy about the fairer sex and would flirt with any female that looked between the ages of fifteen and twenty-three shamelessly.

Chili waved his green-haired brother's comment off, shoveling more food into his mouth. "I c'n do fings ou of da goodnesh of my heart shometimesh," he didn't even bother to swallow his food before retorting. Once he had, he finished his point off with a, "Sheesh."

"Of course, how silly of us. Try not to talk with your mouth full. Like I've said thousands of times." Cress' words were met with a childish sticking out of the tongue by the redhead. The older two shook their heads, Cress' face disapproving and Cilan's amused despite himself.

The double doors into the kitchen opened, a waiter sticking his head in. "Chili, there's someone here claiming you're expecting her?" he said questioningly.

Chili jumped up out of his chair, narrowly avoiding knocking the entire table over. "So she's here! A little earlier than expected, but hey? I don't blame her for being so excited for a chance to battle _me_," he professed, his chin proudly facing the ceiling. "So which one of you wants to oversee this stunning display of finesse and burning passion?"

Cress frowned, cutting into his omelet idly. "I think I'll pass," he said, placing the chunk in his mouth carefully and chewing slowly, politely.

Chili grinned. "Then I guess it's gonna be you today, Cilan!" he exclaimed, grabbing the older boy by the arm and dragging him out of his chair and away. Cress and a few of the waiters and waitresses watched them go with sighs and eye-rolls. They all thought the same thing—_oh, great. He's in one of his bigheaded moods today._

Cilan struggled half-heartedly; he knew it was of little use to oppose his fiery little brother. "Chili, my omelet..." he said, looking back at it longingly. He hadn't even taken a single bite yet...

Chili flashed him another grin. "Don't sweat it; this battle'll be over before it even cools off!" he promised. Though admittedly his younger brother was strong, Cilan had a feeling his omelet was going to be sitting there on the table for a while yet.

They went back upstairs into Chili's room, so he could retrieve the pokeball that contained his trusty Pansear. "You know, Cress is already pissing me off today," Chili said, opening his bedside drawer and pulling the red and white ball out. "I mean, could the stick up his ass go in any farther? Seriously."

True, Chili was acting like more of an egotistical idiot than usual, but Cilan also noted that Cress had become a critical, cynical, stoic-faced bastard lately. The eldest hardly ever smiled or joked around anymore, putting all of any effort he showed into working seriously. Sure, he could mask it all during a challenge or when he was serving customers, but behind those kitchen doors he was a complete ass, and Cilan had no idea as to why.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," the older of the two replied as they walked back downstairs. "Hopefully he'll snap out of it soon. Until then, try not to push his buttons too much."

"Hope you're right. It's like his sense of humor shriveled up and died or something." Chili pushed the double doors open gracefully and composed his face, from a pouting deadpan to a winning smile. "Well well, we meet again! Good morning to you, Miss Bianca!" he called out to the girl standing near the entrance of their restaurant. Cilan put on a smile too, and they made their way toward her.

Bianca's face brightened instantly when she saw them. "Good morning, Mister Chili!" she exclaimed in reply when they'd neared her. She grabbed the strap of her white bag in excitement. "I'm so sorry about making you wake up so early for a challenge, but I'm a morning person so I thought I'd have a better chance if I tried now!" she went on, her face and voice expressive, changing from apologetic to perky in a flash. She was so energetic, even a small conversation like this with her was tiring to Cilan.

Chili just laughed. "Nonsense! It's always a pleasure to have such a spirited challenger!" he assured, complete with a low, elegant bow. "Now then, why don't we get started?" he suggested, signaling for her to follow him to the battlefield behind the dining room. _Oh, of course_, Cilan smiled to himself. _I deal with someone just as energetic every day._

As they walked, Bianca addressed the green-haired Leader. "So you're Cilan, right?" she asked, a big smile on her face. "The one that uses Pansage!"

Cilan returned her smile, nodding. "That's right. I'll be calling your match today."

One of the waiters held a door open for them. "Right this way," he said, bowing as Chili had.

Bianca quickly bowed back to him. "Oh, thank you!" she said, before walking into the Gym portion of the building. The room was immense, and the battlefield was on the standard sandy brown ground. There was a balcony above them on the room's perimeter, though it was currently vacant. One could tell it was Bianca's first Gym challenge of any kind, for her eyes went wide and she clapped her hands together. "Oh, _wow_," she breathed, staring at the balcony. "I can't believe I'm actually here!"

While she'd been standing there, Chili and Cilan had taken their respective places on the field, the redhead in the opposite trainer box and his older brother standing on the sidelines halfway between them. Chili's chuckle brought her out of her reverie. "Pretty impressive, eh?" he called. "Allow me to show you this gym's legacy!"

Bianca took on a determined expression. "Yeah, let's go!" she shouted, scurrying to her own trainer box. Digging around in her bag, she pulled out her pokeball as Chili pulled his own out of his pocket. "I may only have one pokemon, but he's reliable and I'm confident that I'll be the victor!" she said, doing a little fist pump to reinforce her point.

Chili laughed. "So we shall see, mademoiselle," he challenged, as full of spirit as Bianca.

Cilan took that opportunity to start the match. "The battle between the challenger Bianca from Nuvema Town and Gym Leader Chili will now commence," he said, raising his left hand. He waited a moment before bringing it down, shouting, "And begin!"

Both leader and challenger threw their balls with confidence. Out of Chili's pokeball came Pansear, looking as energetic as ever, and Bianca's pokemon turned out to be Pignite, who also looked fired up (no pun intended) and ready to go.

"Two fire types, hm?" Cilan took notice. "This should be interesting."

"Ladies first," Chili called.

"Alright, Pignite, let's do this right! Use Flame Charge!" Bianca shouted her command clearly.

"Piiig!" Pignite obeyed. Its body was engulfed in flames and he charged at Pansear as fast as he could, grunting loudly.

"Dodge it, Pansear!" Chili called, and Pansear merely sidestepped, easily avoiding Pignite, who struggled to stop his momentum and turn around. "Now use Scratch!" Pansear raked its claws down Pignite's exposed back, causing the pokemon to cry out in fury.

Bianca winced, hating to see her precious pokemon injured in any way. "Okay, Pignite, Tackle!" she commanded. Pignite managed to make contact, throwing itself backward at Pansear before the monkey had time to react. Pansear was sent flying, but landed on its feet with little more than a wince.

"'Attaboy, Pansear! Get in there for another Scratch!" The monkey did as it was told, swiftly moving in closer to land another move.

"Oh no you don't! Pignite, Arm Thrust!" Bianca called, waving her arms about.

Pansear was fast, but not fast enough. The Scratch landed flawlessly, but it was unable to get away before Pignite slammed an arm into it's side. _POUND, POUND, POUND_. Pignite managed to hit three consecutive times before Pansear could scurry out of the way, panting slightly.

For the first time, Chili's smile turned into a worried frown. "Hang in there, Pansear!"

Bianca, on the other hand, was ecstatic. "Yes, yes! Don't give him recovery time; get close for another Tackle!"

Pignite was also fast, hurling its body at Pansear with brute force. Pansear only just managed to move out of the way in time to avoid the hit.

"Now, Pansear, Fury Swipes!" Chili called out. More than happy to comply, Pansear moved in like a flash, slashing at Pignite relentlessly.

"No! Pignite, Defense Curl!" Pignite followed Bianca's orders quickly, curling into a ball and taking less damage from Pansear's hits.

"Keep going, Pansear!" That Pansear did; its arms began to hurt from the exertion.

"Pignite, Arm Thrust!" Pignite emerged from its ball and sent a powerful arm towards Pansear's head full force. Pansear dodged each one and continued its Fury Swipes, Pignite crying out.

Chili smirked. _That Pignite doesn't have much left._ "Pansear, finish him off with a Scratch!" he yelled. Pansear readied his hands, lifting them high into the air.

Bianca pulled down on either side of her hat, obviously distressed. "That's it! Pignite, Ember!" she ordered. Pignite inhaled and sharply exhaled a small plume of fire. It wasn't very effective, but it did what it was supposed to: knock Pansear away a bit and delay his attack. "Now Flame Charge with everything you've got!" Pignite's body was ablaze again, speeding toward Pansear dangerously.

"Dodge it again!" Chili screamed out in desperation, but it was too late. Pignite smashed into Pansear with no mercy, sending the smaller monkey pokemon flying to the opposite side of the field. Pansear was unconscious before it hit the ground, only feet away from Chili's feet.

Cilan was taken aback for a moment before he remembered what he was supposed to do. "Pansear is unable to battle! The victor is Bianca from Nuvema Town!" he shouted, holding his left hand up high in the air.

If Cilan was surprised, it was nothing compared to Chili's agape jaw. The redhead ran to and knelt beside his pokemon, stroking its arm. "You did great, buddy. Return," he said, and the red beam sucked Pansear's exhausted body back into the pokeball in his hand.

Bianca was quite the opposite. She ran out to her Pignite and hugged it from behind, a huge smile on her face. "Homygosh, you _did it_, Pignite! Yay!" she squealed, her Pignite mirroring her excitement with a big, proud, "Nite!" They both did a little dance.

Chili rose from the ground, his face ghastly. Cilan felt bad for him; he knew how rough he took it when Pansear was even hurt, let alone knocked out. Moments later, though, he regained his composure and grinned, approaching the victorious girl and clapping his hands. "Well, I for one am very impressed!" he congratulated as Bianca called her Pignite back into its pokeball. "What a beautiful display of the Fire type's power!"

Cilan approached them as well. "Indeed. You two are very close; he's an excellent partner for you."

Bianca couldn't keep the goofy grin off of her face. "Oh, thank you! We've been training really hard for this!" she exclaimed.

Chili reached into his pocket, pulling out a shiny badge and holding it with his index finger and thumb. He held it out to Bianca. "Here, you've earned this," he said, tilting it so the light bounced off it and made it shine impressively. "The Trio badge."

Bianca's eyes sparkled as she took it from him, admiring it in wonder. "My first badge!" she sang, rummaging around in her bag and pulling out her pink and black badge case. Popping it open, she put the Trio badge in its rightful slot and held it out in front of herself. "So cool!" She closed it and put it back in her bag. Bowing deeply first, she stood at attention. "I can't thank you enough, Mister Chili! Take care now!" she said before dashing off, presumably off to the next town to continue her gym conquest.

Chili inhaled, staring off after her. "Well, that didn't go down like I'd expected it to."

Cilan chuckled. "Nope, not quite. How long has it been since you last lost a challenge?"

The redhead folded his hands behind his head, thinking back a bit. "Mmm... Almost six months? Awhile, to be sure."

They stood there in silence for a second, before Cilan suggested they get back to the kitchen, a sentiment Chili whole-heartedly agreed with. Along the way, back in the dining hall, the younger of the two fingered the pokeball in his pocket thoughtfully. "I need to take Pansear to the Pokemon Cente—wait, shoot. We're opening for business really soon," Chili said, sighing. "Damn."

Cilan shrugged his shoulders. "Go ahead. I'll cover for you."

Chili turned to face his green-haired brother. "Really?" he asked, a smile forming on his face.

Cilan had to hold back his laughter. Chili's smile always amused him, for some reason. Maybe because it didn't take much to make the guy happy. "Sure. I'm confident we won't have many people here so early anyway, so go ahead."

Chili's smile broadened, and he slapped his brother on the back gratefully. "Oh, Cilan, I love you man," he said, wasting no time in sprinting for the door. He was surprisingly fast about it, reaching the entrance within ten seconds. He looked back for a second. "I'll be back in five!" he called before running out the door.

Cress peeked out the kitchen doors, having heard Chili's yell. "And where does he think he's going?" he asked in a monotone voice, clearly annoyed.

Cilan looked back at him, exasperated with his older brother's constantly-cold attitude. "He's just going to the Pokemon Center to heal Pansear, Cress. I told him I'd cover for him if need be."

"So he lost, then?" He looked smug for a moment, but the expression was quickly replaced with a frown of disapproval. "Even so, he should know better than to just walk out like that. Will he ever take anything seriously?" he said, retreating back into the kitchen for some final preparations.

It took all of Cilan's willpower to hold his tongue and not give Cress a piece of his mind. He may have been the oldest of the three, but that by no means gave him the right to be so accusatory and critical all the time. He'd always been a literal, serious person by nature, but lately it'd escalated to a point where the younger two would avoid their blue-haired elder most of the time to spare themselves the snide comments, Chili especially. What had gotten into him?

Cilan just shook his head, heading back into the kitchen to help. He only hoped it'd pass eventually and that they could all get along like they had a few weeks ago, smiling and laughing, together. For now though, he would put on the familiar facade he wore every day, the one that acted like everything was okay, that nothing was off or wrong, and set about beginning the workday with a serene, welcoming smile.

—**e—n—d—c—h—a—p—t—e—r—**

_**A/N: Hmm. Can't decide if I like the way this chapter turned out or not. Either way, reviews are more than welcome! Until next time~**_


End file.
